Week ending 2nd December

We have been informed by a local councillor that if we get our build petition to a 1000, we will be able to make a detailed presentation at a full council meeting. This would be a great opportunity to put forward Chesterton’s views. To reach this point you may wish to forward the petition link to friends, family and on social networks. I’m sure we can reach a 1000 if we try…

The ‘Winter Exhibition’ will be taking place in The Apex on Thursday 15th December from 5-6.30pm.This is an opportunity for family and friends of Year 11 Art and Photography students to view work produced during the recent mock exam. Please join us to celebrate the wonderful work whilst enjoying a drink and mince pie.

A massive ‘Thank You’ to the students and staff, who between them raised the incredible sum of £1777.74 for Children In Need. Hundreds of students queued to play fairground games, buy cakes, popcorn and hot chocolate through both morning break and lunchtimes. This was alongside the now annual event ‘Penny Wars’; this year Robinson House was victorious in its achievement of losing house points! (Silver coins outnumbered copper coins.) We are very proud of the student commitment to fundraising for such a worthwhile cause.

The under 14 boys’ basketball team continued their impressive form by making it three convincing wins from three, against St Bede’s in the County Cup. The game finished 59-29 with plenty of excellent basketball on show from both sides. The Chesterton boys played the game in a terrific manner, only conceding two fouls throughout the whole game which was great to see. On to the next match!’

PSE in Tutor Time included:

Years 8-10 continuing their topic on “Mental Wellbeing” this week. They watched and then discussed the clip ‘The Stand Up Boy’ about students in school coping with mental health issues.

Year 7 are working on Building Relationships reflecting on the family and the importance of good relationships.

Please find an account below of the International Evening celebrating 5 years of ESOL café at Chesterton, from Sarah Adams:After Sarah’s welcome, Dorette and Stefania introduced themselves in Dutch and Italian and talked about their experience at ESOL. The newly formed choir then sang a variety of pieces including “Adiemus” by Karl Jenkins. The choir comprised parents of Chesterton students, the ESOL singing group and friends. There were over 20 in the group and we sang some pieces with piano accompaniment and some without! The belly dancing followed and was presented by three beautifully dressed ladies who danced to traditional and contemporary music. There was also an impressive Chinese dance.

We offered two quizzes: one about flags from different countries and one about famous writers. There was a wonderful atmosphere and everyone had a good time!”

“We all had an excellent evening: it started with a talk about the history and development of ESOL; from its humble beginnings with five parents who wanted to find out more about school life. It then expanded with the addition of “Just Talk” for those who wanted to develop their vocabulary and our latest class, “English for Work”. Over the past five years we have had a wider range of nationalities, ages, languages and cultures and now have over 80 learners on our register. We also include trips out to local places: cafés and restaurants, museums, punting, walks and concerts and this is all part of the vision to promote confidence in speaking and communicating in order to take a more active role in school life and our community.

We are taking the Year 7 choir to Willowbank Retirement Home on Friday to perform a selection of Christmas songs: a lovely community event.